A Milestone

   This is kind of a special day for me. It was 15 years ago today, September 24, 1999, my wife and I quit smoking. I have not had one puff, let alone a cigarette, since. I did, however, catch my wife sneaking a smoke a few times after we quit.
  And even though I've been off them this long, the legacy of a pack and a half a day habit for more than 25 years remains with me. I have what used to be called in the olden days "smokers cough". Which is another term for what's now called COPD. We used to call it emphysema. I was diagnosed with the start of that 25 years ago, but it took another decade to finally kick the habit. It was not easy. I'd tried several times, unsuccessfully, to quit. We finally used the patch, and even with that it was a hard row to hoe. 15 years later, I still have that nagging cough which is (and I'll be honest here) disgusting to have to listen to. And no, I won't get into detail.
   And in just a few months, I'll be celebrating 10 years since I quit drinking. That was also not an easy thing to accomplish, but between the 2, I'd say getting off tobacco was far the hardest.
   After all these years, you'd think the cravings would die down, and to a point, they have. But even to this day. there are times I'd like nothing better than to sit on my porch with a box of Cuban cigars:

   And a bottle of Gibson's 18 year old Finest Rare Canadian Whiskey:

   And just enjoy a warm fall evening.

TTFN